Automobile-bumper.



A. E. SMITH.

AUTOMOBlLE BUMPER nvmcmou men mu. n. me.

Patented July 9, 1918.

W/TNESSES.

UNITED STATES PATIiNT orrion.

ALBERT E. SMITH, or MILWAUKEE. WISCONSIN, nssmnon or ONE-HALF To BENJAMIN n, Z1MMERMAN,10F MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN.

' no'rbmoniw-nunrnn.

To all 407mm it may. concern;

Be it known that I, ALB RT Siurru. a citizen of the United States. and resident of ll/lilwnukee. in the county of Milwaukee and State of Wiseonsimhave invented new and useful Improvements in .-\'utomobil,e-Bumpers, of whieh the following is n deseription,

reference being had to. the accompanying drawings, which are a part of this Speeifieato Hon".

This invention has for its-object to provide an. antomobile bmnper of the spring bat-type in \rltieh the lnunperlmr is eapable of yielding upon impart. and it bent out of Another objeet of the invention is to provide. Hlltll a spring .bumperbar that will have a neat andornamental appearance resembling that of a highly polished solid metal; I I, l

Anotherobject of the. invention isto proifltltifiltt'llillt automobile bumper with an inljustable yielding braeket for attaching it, to the automobile .frnme; permitting :tngulnr adjustments to suit the. shape of. the frame, as well as elmu )iugadjustulents on the bar to Suit the. wit till 0f the frame, and thus aalnpt the bumper for.nttaehment to automobiles built under different. speeitieations. 1

\Vith' onetime aml other objecte in view, the invention "e istsj in the. automobile lnnnpelti, its part end combinations of parts a}hergin clailnednnfl ll equivalents.

3 5 n w. ug to the; nceoinpnnying drawings, in. w} like cheragtege of reference nnhcute t fs'znne perts in; d1 fi'erent v1ews:e'

Ijigtii-e 1 "s :1. plan vievtof anontomohil'e bumper constructeilin aoeordaneewith this invention, t portion of the sheet metal covering "beinglblzolienelway to show the wood re nioreement; i v

Fig. .2" a side iviewthereoft with the. lni1nj)er binand n portion. of the bracket seetioned; r a J A Fig. 3 IS a similar new of a modification thereof before the bracket is clamped on'the. bumper bar;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the bumper '50 bar; and

Fig.5 is a detail view of the hinge conneotion between the bracket; members.

these drawings 10 indicates the. ends Patented Jul 9, 1918.

. ApplicationflledIanuaryll,1918i SerialHo.2 11,3 64.

of ,the side bars of the automobile frame, whiehrasusunhare, curred downwardly for eonneqtion with the springs. A pair of attuehing ln-aekete, are secured thereto by means of-U-bolts or ordinary axle clips 11. Each brneltet eomprises it member 12 which may be bent to ronfornt-to the curvature of the side bar 10 and which has its ends bent upwardly, the lower one to form a'hook for engaging! theU-bolt 11, and the upper one to form a hook for engaging the, other U- bolt. and also to term nu are shnped slotted portion 13 through which pushes the clamping bolt 14, of a ln'aeketniember 15. The bracket member I?) lmsits rear endeurved A to. conform with the currnture of'the slotted portion 13 ot' braeket member 12, while its front eml is bent to' form a hook 16. for engagement with the bumper bar. A third brneket member 1:? has'its lower end forked and bent to form hooks for engagement with the lower U-boltll on either side of the book of the bracket member 12, which hook is reduced in width to permit of this relation of the parts as shown in Fig. 5. The hookengagements of the brneketmembers 12 :1 ml 17 form a hinge connection with the U-bolt 11 as the pivotal pin.' and the are of curvature of the slotted portion 13 of braeket member;12 iind the "reer end of l-n'a'eket member l7) is eonjeent rie Withsuch hinge eonneetioi'i. The bracket member 17 is bowed ren'rwnt'iily above th'ehin e con- 'neetion' and is met chtmped to the rocket. member 1;; by means ofa elnniping bolt 18, with its front end forming ii hook 19 com- {:lementaiy to the hook 16 for clamping the umber lonr between them.

The blooper .btir consists of an endless spring steel fmme ,ZO'bent to term a narrow bar end surronndin a; wooden reinforce ment 21, which ma;

parts exposed to View and thus add to its 105 ornamental appearance, a, thin sheet metal e of ash or other "Suit late 23 covers the top surface of the wooden bar with its edges turned down and clamped between the wooden bar and the sprm metal frame 20. The springframe 20 an the top plate 23 may be nickelplated or otherwise uniformly finished to resent the appearance of a solid bar. Or, i preferred,

the top plate 23 may be omitted and a finish given to the wood corresponding with or in contrast to the finish given to the metal surrounding it.

The bumper construction of thls invention is readily installed on any automobile, the base portion of the bracket member 12 of each bracket being bent more or less to corres 0nd with the curvature ofthe' front end 0 the side bar of the automobile frame and then clam ed'thereto by means of the U-bolts 11. Tliebumper bar may then be swung oiithe hinge connection formed between the brhcket members 12 and 17 while the bolt 14 is loose and until the desired adjustment is obtained. The clamping bolts 14 are then tightened. The brackets may be adjusted on the bumper bar with the bolts loose so as to vary the distance between themaccording to the "distance between the sides of the frame 1 0' and'thenthebumper bar may be centered by' sliding-it throughthe tightening the clamping bolts 18 to draw the hooks 16 and 19together for clamplng the bumper bar between them, the hooks 16 and 19 are sprung slightly as indicated by the dotted lines inFig. 2, so that they exert a spring clamping action on th'e bumper bar tending to hold I. rigidly in lace against longitudinal drsp aoegnen t an the slightly beveled corners of t e eil'igaging surfaces of these books tend to press the parts of the bumper bar together as shown in Fig. 3, so that a firm clamping action is had thereon causing the, metal spring and the wooden spring to reinforce each other.

A blow received by the bumper bar is cushioned and transmitted to the frame without injury thereto, for the bumper bar not only yields locally by bending'at the point struck, but it yields as a whole oh account of the flexible resilient brackets connecting it with the frame. The bowed bracket members may bend to yield to the force of the blow, and permanently bent th r y may be reset. ith very little difliculty. Un er a severe blow the clamping bolts 14 may yield and slide in the slotted portions 13 of the bracket members 12 without injury to the parts giving a. frictional resistance to the p yotally mounted bumper bar in addition to its resiliency and the resiliency of the bracket. The bar itself co|nbines the spring action of the steel spring and the bow-shaped wooden spring, each rcinforeing the other. It possesses a certain amount of resiliencywhlch Wlll permit it to by brackets beiore'thebolts aretightened; In

yield to slight blows and resume its original form. A sharp bend which would render useless a bar of tubular construction or a channel iron bar, may break the wood reinforcement, but repairs may be made at a slight cost by straightening the spring metal frame 20 to its ori 'nal shape and inserting a new wooden rein orcement.

The bumper of this invention is therefore less liable to injury because of the yielding nature of the bumper bar and its bracket supports, and when injured may readily be repaired at slight cost. It is much more ornamental in appearance because of the apparently solid structure of the bar and especially when provided with the top plate 23 enabling it to take auniform metal polish in keeping with the other parts of the automobile.

I desire it to be understood that this invention is not limited to any specific form or arrangement of parts except in so far as such limitations are specified in the claims.

In the modification shown in Fig. 3 the bracket members 15 and 17 are connected by a loop 16 which may be contracted around the bumper bar by the tightening of bolt 18.

at I claim as new and desire to secure Letters Patent is: r 1. In an automobile bumper, a bumper bar consisting of a flexible resilient wooden member.

2. In an automobile bumper, a bum er bar comprising a wooden bar mem er mounted on yielding supporting brackets.

3. An automobile bumper, comprisin a yieldable spring steel bumper bar wit a wooden reinforcement.

4. An automobile bumper, comprising a yieldable wooden bumper bar with spring steel reinforcement.

5. An automobile bumper, comprising a bumper bar formed of spring steel around a wooden reinforcement, and yielding supporting brackets therefor.

6. An automobile bumper, comprising a bumper bar formed of spring steel around. a. wooden reinforcement with a metal covermg for the wobden reinforcement.

An automobile bumper, compri'sing a bumper bar frame of spring steel arounda Wooden reinforcement with a metal plate covering the wooden reinforcement and having its edges turned down and clamped between the spring steel and the wooden re inforcement.

8. {\n automobile bumper, comprising yielding brackets each consisting of a bracket member adapted. to be Secured to the end of an automobile frame, a second bracket member pivotally connected therewith, and a third bracket member clamfped 1 rst together, and a bumper bar clamped between the second bracket member and the third bracket member of each bracket.

9. In an automobile bumper, supporting brackets each comprising a fixed part adapted to' be secured to the automobile frame and a swinging part having hinge xed part, the fixed of eac bracket.

11. An automobile bumper, comprising: supportin brackets,'each consisting of; a

fixed mem er fitting on the front end of the side bar of the automobile frame, a hook formed at one end of the fixed bracket member, an arc-shaped slotted )ortion bent up from the other end of the xed bracket member, U-bolts fitting in the hook portion and the bent portion of the fixed bracket -member for clamping it to the frame, a

swinging bracket member having its end forked and engaging one of the U-bolts on opposite sides of the hook to form a hinge connection and having an arc-shaped end slidably fitting against the slotted portion of the fixed bracket member, and a clamping bolt for adjustably clamping said parts together; and a bumper bar carried by the brackets.

12. In an automobile bumper, a yielding supporting bracket comprising a portion fixed on the end of the automobile frame arched porand upwardly and forwardliy s tions extending from the en thereof, and a clamping member for clamping said arched portions together to clamp a bumper bar between them.

13. An automobile bumper, comprising yielding supporting brackets each consisting of a fixed bracket member with a hook formed at one end and an arc-shaped slotted extension bent up from the other end, U-bolts engaging the fixed bracket member at its book portion and its bent-up portion for clamping it to the end of an automobile frame, an upwardly and forwardly arched bracket member forked and bent to form hooks engaging the U-bolt on opposite sides of the hook of the fixed bracket member and having a hook. formed on its forwardly extending end, and a third bracket member clamped to the last mentioned bracket member and forming a complementary hook for engaging a bumper bar between them, said third bracket member being arched and fitting with the arcshaped extension of the fixed bracket member and having a clamping bolt for engaging said extension through the slot thereof.

14. An automobile bumper, comprising a yielding supporting bracket consisting of arched forwardly extending bracket mem bers connected together by a contractible loop for receiving and clamping a bumper bar, and means for contracting the loop 15. In an automobile bumper, a supporting bracket comprising spring bracket members adjustably connected together at their rear ends and connected together at their front ends by means of a contractible loop for receiving and clamping. a bumper bar, and a bolt connecting the bracket inembars near the loop for contracting the loop around the bumper bar.

In testimony whereof, I ailix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

ALBERT E. SMITH. witzigessgsb sum H. D. CHABZ 

